0000000000328093
AUTHOR
Bosco L.
Apoptosis in human sperm as a quality marker for a new diagnostic approach of infertile patients
The quality of the sperm DNA is one of the most important molecular markers of male reproductive potential (Bosco, L et al., 2018, Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 58:243-249). The aim of this study was to evaluate sperm DNA fragmentation according to morphology, to predict the probability of selecting a sperm with normal morphology and intact DNA. An observational study was performed on 70 patients with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia. Sperm DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI) and semen parameters such as sperm density, motility and morphology were evaluated in all patients. DFI was calculated using the in situ TUNEL assay. DFI can be determined and thus used as a marker of sperm quality for a diagnostic …
EVALUATION OF OOCYTE QUALITY IN GRANULOSA AND CUMULUS CELLS OF PATIENTS UNDERGOING PMA
Background. We investigate the apoptosis rate of individual granulosa cell–oocyte and cumulus cell–oocyte (COC), associated with the levels of molecules playing a critical role in the regulation of cell death or survival. These molecular analyses have been done to verify the difference of competence between oocytes producing embryos able to reach the blastocyst stage compared with embryos arrested during the in vitro culture. Methods. From each single follicle: granulosa cells were processed for Western blotting analyses, using the following antibodies: pAKT, ERK 1/2, pERK 1/2; cumulus cells were used for in situ immunofluorescence with the same antibodies. DNA fragmentation rate was measur…